A Guide To Bingo Online

Are you hoping to try out a game of bingo online? While bingo may not have quite the same level of glamor attached to it as blackjack, baccarat, or roulette, it is still plenty of fun — which is exactly why a wide number of online casinos carry variations of the game. But what separates online bingo from the traditional sort, and are there any strategies or tricks that you can use to improve your chances? Read our guide and you will soon know all that’s worth knowing about online versions of bingo!

How To Play Bingo Online

Bingo is one of the games that has survived so long because of its sheer simplicity: it extends well beyond casinos and is widely played simply as a means of relaxation. You have almost certainly seen some variation of it being played at one point or another, if only on television; but in case you are a complete newcomer, here is our comprehensive guide to the rules, strategies, and odds that go into a game of bingo.

Bingo Rules

Bingo has a number of variations, although the general idea will remain the same. In the most basic variation — the sort that you would likely be playing if you choose to play bingo in real life — you will be given a scorecard with a 5×5 grid of randomly-chosen numbers.

The game’s host (the caller) will begin producing random numbers. Each time one of these numbers corresponds with a number on your scorecard, you can place a mark on that particular number. Once the marks have formed a row of five (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally) you have won! In a traditional, multiplayer game of bingo, the game will continue either until one player has won (at which point they call out “bingo!”) or until the set number of calls (usually 75) has been made.

As noted, this is the version that you would likely be playing in real life. Once you head to an online bingo casino, however, you will find the core rules being tweaked a little. In online bingo, the scorecard does not have to be 5×5: it can be in any number of shapes, and you may also start the game with multiple scorecards. Similarly, your marks do not necessarily have to be in a straight line to win: different bingo games will recognize different patterns, and you might win if your markers turn up in a checkerboard, triangle, V-shaped formation, or even the shape of a particular number, with different shapes having different values in terms of scoring.

The role of the human caller is, of course, automated, with the game choosing random numbers once you click the “play” button. Despite these changes, however, the core gameplay will be the same: you are given a grid of random numbers, you are then shown additional random numbers; and if there is a close enough match, you will win.

Bingo Strategies

Bingo is ultimately a game of chance, and whether or not you win will be down almost entirely to luck. A website offering you a surefire solution to winning at bingo is misleading you, unfortunately enough! However, there are some strategies that you can take into account when playing bingo online that will at least nudge the odds in your favor.

The most basic trick is to buy more scorecards per round: this is a matter of basic math, after all. Beyond this, the main factor to take into account is which variation of bingo you are playing. A version that has a wide range of different winning combinations may be tempting; but if those combinations are rare, then you might be better off sticking to bingo variations that offer higher jackpots for more common combinations (such as the traditional 5-square line).

Bingo Chances of Winning

Once again, your chances of winning will depend on the variation of bingo that you are playing. In the most traditional form of bingo — with 75 calls, a 5×5 scorecard, and winning combinations in the form of straight 5-square lines — a player with a single scorecard has a chance of winning that is around 20 to 1; these odds can be boosted by buying additional cards. When you play bingo online, however, the odds will vary wildly between games. The size of the scorecard, the number of winning combinations, the number of calls, and the presence (or absence) of bonus features will all impact the odds in one case or another.

It might be a good idea to play some basic games of bingo first to get your head around the standard odds, and then branch out towards the more elaborate variations so that you can better judge how each new v variation will alter the odds.

Bingo Variants

There is no shortage of different variations on offer when you try a game of bingo online, and any given bingo casino will almost certainly have a range of different options to choose from. The most immediately recognizable difference between the games will be the themes: some focus on the traditional bingo iconography of colorful numbered balls, while others push the boat out and use all manner of cartoonish or fantastical imagery. Beneath the surface, meanwhile, you will find more significant differences in terms of scorecard size and number; winning patterns; and occasional extra features.

For example, Pesca Bingo offers you four scorecards (each with a 3×6 grid) and recognizes twelve different winning combinations of varying values; the virtual caller will give you 30 balls in each round, and you have the option to buy up to 13 additional balls to help fill in the spaces you have left on your cards. The game is themed around fish and fishing, and it even includes a fishing minigame that is triggered if you land a specific pattern. Minigames of this sort are common in the more elaborate bingo games: Cataratas Bingo, for example, has a “wheel of fortune” bonus round.

In some variations, the number of scorecards you can bet on each round is flexible. Roaring Twenties Bingo! even allows you to bet on up to 100 scorecards at a time — although bear in mind that in real money bingo, the more cards you bet on, the more money you will be spending. Roaring Twenties Bingo! also has a progressive jackpot that helps separate it from more traditional bingo. There are also versions of bingo that include special balls that operate something like the wild symbols and mystery symbols that turn up in a slot game but are adapted to suit the mechanics of bingo online.

Best Bingo Casinos

Not all online casinos carry bingo games, and those that do may not always put bingo in the section where you might expect to find it. Some, like LeoVegas, have dedicated bingo categories that can be accessed quickly and simply from the main menu. On other sites, the bingo games might be included in a miscellaneous section entitled “Other Games”, “Speciality Games” or something along those lines.

There are also sites that have no dedicated section to house their bingo titles, meaning that if you are looking specifically for bingo, then you will need to use the search tool: Casoola (casino review and login) is an example.

Different online casinos work with different providers, which means that they will have different selections of bingo titles. For example, Vegasoo (casino review and login) allows you to choose from the likes of Tomatina Bingo, Calavera Bingo, and even the Cervantes-inspired Don Bingote. At Casoola, meanwhile, your options include Bingole, Instant Bingo and Immortal Romance Video Bingo.

Certain casinos might even carry their own line-ups of exclusive bingo games. Just look at LeoVegas (casino review and login), for example, which has a range of lion-themed bingo titles: Lion’s Roar, Lion on the Line, Life Begins at Leo, Leo’s Legs, Lion’s Den, and Lion Queen.

Play Bingo Online At The Best Casino

Now that you have read our guide to playing bingo online, you should have a clear idea of what the game has to offer you. The bottom line is that, while this is fundamentally the same simple game of chance that has been played for generations, the online versions offer a large number of tweaks and variations — from adjusted scorecard sizes to entire minigames — that add a considerable amount of new appeal to the game. Furthermore, savvy gamer will have a few tricks at their disposal to give the odds just a tiny nudge.

We have also given you advice on how to find the best variations on bingo and the online casinos that host them; if we were to point you to one site, we would go with LeoVegas, as its selection of exclusive bingo variations is well worth a look.